Computational genomics analysis and training (cgat)at the MRC functional genomics unit

The UK has a growing backlog of genome sequence data that most biologists and clinicians cannot analyse on their own. This programme will build the computational tools and training needed to unlock that data. The problem is straightforward: DNA sequencing machines now produce vast amounts of information, but the researchers who could use that data to understand disease often lack the computing skills to handle it. Many labs can generate sequence data but cannot manage, manipulate, or interpret the enormous files that result. This creates a bottleneck between raw data and medical insight. CGAT will provide those researchers with direct access to genome analysis expertise, drawing on in-house computational biologists at the MRC Functional Genomics Unit and collaborations across the UK genomics community. At the same time, it will train a new generation of pre- and post-doctoral scientists in the analytical methods needed to work with high-throughput sequence data. If successful, this programme will turn a technical bottleneck into a pipeline. More disease genes will be identified, more clinical questions answered from existing data, and the UK will build a workforce capable of sustaining genomic medicine long-term.